Last week saw a decline in COVID-19 positivity but new variants are being detected in L.A.
At the end of the MLK holiday and Presidential Inauguration, some good news was waiting as the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has seen a decrease in COVID-19 positivity. At the end of last week, there was a decrease by 30 percent in a seven-day average of daily cases. Despite this, public health officials are still urging the public to continue with proactive measures: wear a face covering and maintain physical distance when venturing outside the house.
“It is clear that careful actions many have been taking this month are making a difference,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “It is also apparent that the road ahead remains difficult. Knowing that it will take months to complete vaccinations, and that there is a more infectious variant, means we need everyone to adhere to the rules that allow us to protect each other.”
As of last week, more than 441,000 doses of vaccine have been administered, including more than 352,000 first doses and more than 88,000 second doses. According to the State, the Southern California Region continues to have 0% available ICU capacity and is still under a regional Stay at Home Order.
Also, L.A. Dept. of Public Health has seen eight additional cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) bringing the total to 62 children with one child death. MIS-C is an inflammatory condition associated with COVID-19 and symptoms include fever that does not go away and inflamed body parts, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs. Health officials are urging the public to seek emergency care if these symptoms are indicated.
As of Sunday, January 24, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed 98 new deaths and 8,243 new cases of COVID-19. There were 6,697 people with COVID-19 hospitalized with 24% of these people in the ICU.
Public Health identified 1,073,111 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 15,260 deaths. Across the Southland: within Los Angeles County shows 1,017,099 cases, within Long Beach with 46,281 cases and within Pasadena with 9,731. According to race and ethnicity, COVID-19 statistics show: American Indian/Alaska Native with 1,761; Asian with 42,924; Black with 34,809; Hispanic/Latino with 477,338; Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander with 3,917; White with 99,227; those of other race and ethnicity with 105,077and 252,046 under investigation.
As it’s been reported by multiple sources, the U.K. COVID-19 variant has been reported in Los Angeles County. Health officials have stated that mutations and variants are common place when it comes to viruses. The U.K. variant, as well as other emerging variants, have been stated to be more contagious than the first wave of COVID-19 but does not cause more severe illness, increase risk of death or negate the effectiveness of taking a vaccine. Experts have also stated this variant could be dominant in the U.S. by March.
For more information and statistics on COVID-19 in Los Angeles County, please visit http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/
For more detailed information on COVID-19 vaccination plans in L.A. County and to sign up for a vaccination newsletter, visit: www.VaccinateLACounty.com.
